First look at Chester Zoo's overnight luxury safari lodges with views of giraffes and zebras

Yahoo

a day ago

Chester Zoo's first-ever overnight safari-style lodges are almost finally ready to be unveiled after months of anticipation and almost ten years of planning.
The Reserve at Chester Zoo - a spectacular safari-style lodge resort, overlooking the giraffe enclosure - will officially open its doors to guests on Monday (August 18) offering one of the UK's most unique short break experiences.
Combining luxurious accommodation with exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the zoo's world-renowned wildlife, the new resort is set to transform how travellers experience conservation in the UK.
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The lakeside Reserve features 51 beautifully designed lodges, some overlooking a private savannah where giraffes, zebras and blesbok antelope roam, and others nestled beside a peaceful lake.
According to Chester Zoo, the new resort is set to attract an estimated 35,000 additional visitors to the North West each year, drawing nature-lovers from across the UK and beyond.In addition, guests staying at The Reserve are projected to spend over £10 million annually, with all profits reinvested into the zoo's charitable conservation work - supporting critical projects in Kenya, Uganda and the UK.
These include endangered species breeding programmes, global wildlife protection efforts and cutting-edge scientific research.
Those behind the project say the innovative concept - where every hotel stay directly funds the protection of threatened species - will help strengthen the zoo's role as 'one of the country's most loved and most impactful conservation charities.'"The Reserve at Chester Zoo is a game-changer - not just for luxury travel but for conservation, explained Jamie Christon, CEO at Chester Zoo.
"Born from our long-standing commitment to protecting African wildlife, we've created a truly immersive, safari-style experience right here in the UK, where guests may wake up to giraffes on their doorstep, enjoy unforgettable wildlife encounters and relax in beautifully designed lodges surrounded by nature. But what makes The Reserve truly unique is its purpose.
'Everything we do at Chester Zoo - now including The Reserve - supports conservation. As a not-for-profit, every single stay directly funds our groundbreaking work, here in the UK and around the world. That includes protecting black rhinos in Kenya and Rwanda, using AI to fight poaching of giant pangolins in Uganda and working with communities in Madagascar to save precious species like the golden mantella frog.'Guests at The Reserve aren't just going to enjoy a luxury break - they're going to power our conservation movement for generations to come.
"This new venture will help strengthen the zoo's role as one of the country's most loved and most impactful conservation charities. We believe this is the future of travel, where unforgettable experiences and real conservation impact go hand in hand.'
Scheduled to officially open next week, the lodges have been crafted using natural and sustainable materials, while the décor is inspired by landscapes in Africa, where the zoo is working to help highly endangered species to thrive in the wild.
The Reserve integrates eco-friendly design to boost UK biodiversity, including wildflower meadows, aquatic planting, swift and bat boxes, green roofs and native tree planting - targeting at least a 10% biodiversity net gain.
In total, 12 of the lodges overlook the paddock where giraffes, zebra and blesbok antelope roam, while the remainder overlook the lake. Many of the rooms can be booked for couples, families and large groups and come with a number of amenities including steam showers, outdoor bathtubs and beautifully appointed balconies to relax on and enjoy the wildlife.
"We've been thinking about a hotel since 2016 and we received planning permission but it was a standard rectangular hotel with 100 rooms in it and we thought that it wasn't really in keeping with what the zoo is and our values.
"So, in 2018 we then travelled to South Africa and teamed up with a company there to operate a hotel with us and sketched out what you can see now and I was saying to someone that it's odd that we're in a board room in Port Elizabeth and all these years later it's here.
"We were going to build it earlier but Covid got in the way, we were shut for a while and there were some financial difficulties but we were determined that when we reopened we needed it in the zoo.
"The reasons for doing it are numerous. We have 37,000 animals here at Chester Zoo, 13km of footpath so to try and get around the zoo in one day as a family can be difficult and we recognise that a lot of people and travelling and staying in hotels and B&Bs in and around the area so why not just do something here.
"The beauty of the hotel for guests is that they can see things that normal zoo visitors cannot, so a lot of the rooms look out over the paddock that have the animals in, and we're also doing some early morning and late-night tours of the zoo so the rangers come down and take people up to the Heart of Africa which opened earlier this year and they have the chance to see nocturnal species such as aardvarks."
There's also the chance to meet conservation experts who are working on the front line of global wildlife protection - including in Kenya and Uganda where the zoo supports projects to save the eastern black rhino, nubian giraffe, giant pangolin and mountain bongo.
"We've got eight giraffes in total at Chester Zoo and then two here at The Reserve are father and son, they're called Meru who is 15 and Stanley who is three, explained Caroline Wright, Assistant Giraffe Team Manager at the zoo.
"When it comes to the feeding of them, we'll come to the two lodges and show guests because they have very specific dietary requirements, so we give them branches like willow which is their favourite.
"If you are doing the giraffe feeds, it's with a zoo keeper so we'll be able to share information on the personalities, and even just being in the lodges means you can watch them at night, and even we don't get to see that we watch them back on the cameras.
"Then there's the campfire stories is learning all about in the field conservation stories as you would if you were out and talking to the rangers around the fire. So it will be learning about the first conservationists, how we got to know so much about giraffes and that sort of thing."
As part of the experience, guests can drink, dine and unwind at the new Amboseli Restaurant and the Tsavo Lounge, where they can enjoy a drink on starlit evenings on the lakeside terrace.
Each evening, they can grab a cosy blanket and join Chester Zoo's expert rangers by the firepit for a sundowner or warming hot chocolate to share stories from the field.
The Amboseli Restaurant is named in a nod to the region in Kenya where the zoo and its partners work to protect lion populations. Dishes span small plates, sourdough sandwiches and woodstone oven pizzas, sides and large plates. There's also sweet treats including sticky toffee pudding, poached apricots and Bakewell slices.
"The price is demand led so if you want to come mid-summer or on a bank holiday it will be just like any other hotel, but at the moment for a couple, the price starts from £190 but that includes breakfast, £50 meal voucher and entry into the zoo, so if you strip that back, accommodation is about £100.
"We have lots of different types of rooms depending on people's budgets so we have some very high-end rooms with their own gardens, giraffe feeding stations, steam showers, free-standing bathtubs on the balconies.
"Then we have the family rooms as well that can sleep for, while some can sleep 12 as well, so lots of different ways to be inclusive and that can be booked through the website, allowing people to find the best deals for them.
"In terms of the theme, it's been styled in African Savana colours, lots of greens and pastels, lot of landscaping and using plants that you would see it that part of the world, and it's a very quiet and peaceful site as well.
"But we've been very careful about the decor and style, taking people away from where they are, a retreat and escape from normal life.
"We already have £200,000 of bookings for next year already, people are booking into the summer of 2026. It's not just bookings from the North and North West but last week we had some from London as well. People coming up on the train, staying here for a night and then going onto North Wales."
Stays for couples start from £396 (£198 per person, based on two sharing). This includes valet parking, an arrival drink, breakfast, a £50 dinner allowance and two day entry tickets to Chester Zoo (worth over £130) with extended hours entry that aren't available to general visitors and campfire stories.
Stays for a family of four (two adults, two children) start from £684 (£171 per person, per night). This includes valet parking, an arrival drink, breakfast, a £100 dinner allowance and two day entry tickets to Chester Zoo (worth over £240) with extended hours that aren't available to general visitors and campfire stories.
To find out more or to book your stay, visit: www.chesterzoo.org/thereserve